The assaults on Hagel began almost immediately after his name was floated for the secretary of defense job -- and from the usual sources. First, it was the self-appointed protectors of Israel, who determined Hagel suspect because he finds the efforts of the pro-Israel lobby to punish any public official who diverges from the notion that Israel can do no wrong somewhat problematic. Why is Hagel a hater of Jews? Because he once suggested that "the Jewish lobby" intimidates more than a few politicians. On the heels of this rather predictable attack came Wednesday's full-throated assault on Hagel in the Washington Post, in an editorial titled "Chuck Hagel is not the Right Choice for Defense Secretary."